What Lies Beneath
by xXBalorBabeXx
Summary: It wouldn't have been out of normal thinking to ask what's going on... but it varies in different perspectives, what they see and what you see. (Co-written with Cry-Of-A-Warp-Engine)
1. How It Looks To Others

Brock didn't normally watch the others at the arena… but there were times he couldn't help his curiosity and this was one of those.

Across from him and near the interview section of the arena were Amanda and Finn, Amanda reading through a script and fighting a smile when Finn was trailing his fingers up and down her spine.

Brock had seen this the night before at the Hell In A Cell pay per view but didn't take too much notice… but just as he was about to go find Hunter and ask him what was going on, Hunter walked up to him.

"You okay there, buddy?" Hunter asked.

"I didn't think much of this last night but do you know what's going on between them?" Brock responded, Hunter seeing Finn and Amanda.

"Nothing beyond friendship as far as I know… are you curious or do you want to kill him?" Hunter replied, Brock's eyes widening.

"Hold on, there are people wanting to kill him?" Brock questioned.

"Oh you bet. Seth accuses him of 'stealing' her, Alexa hasn't a problem with him exactly but she knows that harming him will cause Amanda pain on the inside, so I think I'd class that as her having it out for him." Hunter answered.

"Do I even want to know what John thinks of him?" Brock asked.

"I expect it'll be along the lines of 'Hurt her to so much as a pinch's strength and the next time you wake up, you'll be coming out of a coma in 2020'." Hunter responded.

"Sounds like John… no matter what, she'll always be his little sis." Brock said before Hunter left and Brock headed towards them.

"We'll get thrown off the air for that, stop suggesting it." Amanda whispered with a slight laugh as Finn's hand rested on her upper back now.

"Hey kids." Brock said, making both jump.

"Brock… you scared me." Amanda replied, absentmindedly shuffling her right foot back and forth.

"Sorry. Hey, is it alright if I talk to her for a bit, Finn?" Brock responded.

"Yes, of course." Finn said before leaning in towards Amanda, his mouth by her left ear. "I'll go find Ace, see if everything's set for the show." He whispered before kissing her on her forehead and leaving, Brock wrapping his hand around Amanda's right wrist in a gentle manner and leading her down the hall.

"Uh, am I in some sort of trouble, Brock?" Amanda asked as they stopped and he lifted her up with ease to get her to sit on a production crate.

"Not from me at least… I'm asking merely out of curiosity." Brock assured her.

"About Finn… we've known each other for about a little over a year, his friend Becky introduced us to each other and we've been getting along great since then." Amanda said, carefully crossing her right leg over her left one and Brock seeing the tape under the black and white knee pad. "Charlotte trapped me in that Figure Eight for five minutes last night… refused to break the hold when I got to the ropes and got disqualified." She explained when Brock noticed how she was protecting her bruised knee, having had to wrestle Charlotte because of Nikki's neck injury. "And as for me and Finn… we're close. But I get where you're coming from and I appreciate you being calm about it, Brock." She said as Brock helped set her back on the floor.

"Well, that's good… just know that I'll protect you no matter what, kiddo." Brock replied as they hugged for a few seconds.

"Thank you. Quick question, you've seen Charlotte anywhere?" Amanda responded.

"I think she's in the Women's locker room." Brock answered, kissing Amanda on her forehead.

Amanda left and reached the Women's locker room, knocking on the door. When it opened, Sasha let the brunette in and Amanda headed over to Charlotte as Sasha left to go find Naomi and Tamina.

"Hey Char, can we talk about-" Amanda started to ask, Charlotte slamming her Samsung Galaxy s6 down and standing up abruptly.

"Talk about what, how I can't keep a relationship together while you and Finn won't admit to your 'special love', huh?!" Charlotte responded angrily.

"Charlotte, what the hell? Calm down and tell me what happened." Amanda said, a bit startled and trying to get Charlotte to sit down but had to jump out of the way as Charlotte kicked the chair at her. "Ashley Elizabeth, calm the fuck down!" She yelled, calling Charlotte by her real name.

"Thomas had the divorce finalized! Instead of us talking things through, he shoved our marriage aside and stomped on it! So no, I won't calm down, you have the happiness that I don't and I HATE YOU FOR IT!" Charlotte shouted, voice increasing in volume halfway through and Amanda fighting the anger rising through her.

Amanda turned and walked to the door, opening it and brushing past Becky without another word.

"Char, why were you yelling at Mandy?!" Becky asked, having seen the tears that Amanda was holding back… but Charlotte ignored the orange haired woman and left without another word.

Amanda stopped in a quieter hallway in the arena and climbed up onto a production crate, sprawling out on her back and closing her eyes as her legs rested on another crate after pulling the hood of her hoodie up and onto her head… she blocked everything out even as she heard Finn stop in front of her and felt the gust of wind caused by him waving his right hand in front of her face before he rested it on the top of her head.

"Something happen, lass?" Finn asked as Amanda opened her eyes.

"Charlotte yelled at me…" Amanda admitted as she saw strands of black and white fur on Finn's shirt. "Concorde running around somewhere?" She asked.

"Yeah, he ran off during the dark match between Paige and Brie and we can't find him." Finn explained as he helped Amanda up, his hands under her knees as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Wait, why aren't you letting me walk? It's just bruised." Amanda responded as Finn headed down the hallway while hanging onto her.

"The more you walk, the longer it will take to heal. Resting was never a bad thing." Finn answered, heading for the elevator at the end of the hallway.

Amanda was about to respond to that when they heard meowing and Enzo's voice, eventually seeing him holding the 8 month old kitten.

"Is he okay?" Amanda asked.

"Yeah, the little guy just got a bit startled." Enzo replied as Concorde meowed and Amanda petted him… but Enzo saw the tears trailing down her face as Dianne reached them and Concorde jumped into her arms, Dianne cuddling Concorde close to her.

"Concorde, don't scare Mommy like that." Dianne replied, Concorde nuzzling his face into hers.

"Mandy, you okay?" Enzo asked, Amanda nodding absentmindedly.

But Concorde knew better, the kitten's green eyes observing the young woman… a cat always knew when their humans were upset.


	2. When It Boils Down To It

"I barely walked up to her and was wanting to ask her why she broke character and didn't let go of my leg last night but she blew up at me before I could finish asking… she kicked the steel chair at me, screamed and told me that she hates me for apparently having the happiness that she doesn't." Amanda explained when they were in hers and Finn's locker room, petting Concorde as he sat on her lap, having claimed it as his spot.

And after hearing that, he started nuzzling his face against her wrist with a purring sound before looking up at her with a meow.

"Yes… we all have bad days, lil' one. Charlotte was very nasty, wasn't she? Like that other cat that stole your mouse the other day." Finn said, with a scratch behind Concorde's ear.

The kitty tilted his head towards him and his eyes closed halfway, before he looked up and began to lick Finn's hand.

"Yep. No matter what species, we all have those days." Amanda responded, Concorde meowing before jumping onto Dianne's lap.

As Amanda went to go fix her makeup a bit, she overheard something because of the air vent that sometimes made conversations travel through to rooms.

"$5,000?! Hunter, have you lost your damn mind?!" Charlotte yelled as Amanda scrubbed off the eye makeup that trailed down her face and reapplied the concealer before applying a subtle rose blush and eyeshadow, Amanda then applying waterproof liquid eyeliner and mascara before closing the tubes and putting her things back in her bag.

"You broke character last night, could've seriously harmed Mandy! It wasn't my decision to levy the fine, that was the board. Rules are rules and you broke a big one, Char." Hunter explained but Charlotte was livid.

"There's also one of no storylines with sexual undertones but you broke that one in favor of Mandy and Balor!" Charlotte responded.

"Whoa, where the hell did that come from?! Their storyline is within the family friendly guidelines!" Hunter replied as Aestrid ran in.

"The hell's going on in here?!" Aestrid asked.

"Hypocrisy, Ace! This guy and the board giving me a fine of $5000 for breaking the rules, when they have Amanda and Finn visibly kissing it out and her having her legs around him on live Tv!" Charlotte answered, Aestrid rolling her eyes.

"The kids see a lot worse these days, on the Internet and Tv and that. Tell you what, the day they ban music stars from wearing stuff like mesh dresses or triangle bikinis in their videos, for songs which are also 'family friendly', _then_ I'll agree that Mandy and Finn go too far on screen!" Aestrid responded.

Charlotte stormed off, Hunter turning to Aestrid.

"I'm assuming that the 5 grand was partly because of Mandy's knee nearly being dislocated, right?" Aestrid questioned.

"Another few minutes of being trapped in that hold, it would've snapped out of the socket… not so sure about Mandy wrestling tonight." Hunter explained.

"I suppose if the board deems her healthy enough then regardless of what we all think, it's her decision in the end." Aestrid replied.

"That's true." Hunter responded.

When it was time for Amanda's match, the two watched in the back as Alicia got into the ring… and noticed that Alicia was tugging on her long sleeved ring top.

"I don't know about you but I think she's hiding a bruise, Hunter." Aestrid said.

"You don't think Charlotte pulled her aside and bribed her to try to hurt Mandy, do you?" Hunter asked as the match started and progressed evenly.

Amanda lost her grip on Alicia after Alicia managed to break the headlock, the taller woman noticing her friend cringe slightly as her bruised knee hit the mat, Alicia leaning in closer to Amanda as the referee crouched down… it would've been easy to convince a rookie referee that nothing was wrong but Amanda knew she couldn't convince Mike Chioda.

"Locked up?" Mike asked quietly, Amanda nodding.

"Fox, grab me by my hair, I'll break free and hit you with a Twist Of Fate. Alright?" Amanda whispered, Alicia nodding and doing so… Amanda forced a bit of distance before using the old move that the Hardy brothers taught her, pinning Alicia to end the match and climbing out to sit on the ring apron as Finn rested his hands on her sides. "I can't get it to move too much, Finn." She said quietly as Finn rested his hands on her knee and felt the knotted up muscle on the back of it before gently rubbing it, picking Amanda up into his arms and taking her to the back with Mike and Alicia following.

"What happened out there?!" Dr. Amann asked, turning away from Dean and to Amanda after Finn set her on the exam table, Dean holding an ice pack to his right hand as he headed to them.

"She had Alicia in a headlock, Alicia shoved her down to her knees as scripted to try to break the hold and Mandy's knee hit the mat." Mike explained, the veteran referee lightly rubbing Amanda's right shoulder as Finn carefully pulled Amanda's knee pad down and untaped her knee.

"Damn, kiddo… gonna have to scan it with the MRI machine." Dr. Amann responded, Amanda nodding absentmindedly.

"I'm so sorry." Alicia said.

"Alicia, it ain't your fault." Amanda replied.

"Charlotte wanted me to hurt you and I told her off… then I did end up hurting you." Alicia said.

"Wait, why is Charlotte pissed at Mandy?" Dean asked.

"She got fined $5000 after last night and then had the nerve to call Hunter a hypocrite because in her opinion, mine and Mandy's storyline isn't family friendly. I suspect that something went wrong between her and Thomas." Finn explained.

"I think she's better off without the abusive asshole." Amanda muttered, Finn resting his hand on her lower back. "Thomas was arrested in late August and charged with domestic violence and false imprisonment of his girlfriend. When Charlotte found out, she swore up and down that it wasn't true and that Thomas wasn't like Riki, her first husband…" She explained.

"But you've been in the same situation as Charlotte." Finn responded, Amanda nodding.

"Trying to hide it won't make it go away…" Amanda said quietly as her knee was scanned by the portable MRI machine.

When the scans were ready, Dr. Amann checked them over.

"You're insanely lucky… no tears in the muscles or ligaments and nothing's broken." Dr. Amann explained.

"So just ice and elevate it, should heal up on its own, right?" Amanda replied.

"Yep. Take it easy, kiddo." Dr. Amann said before they hugged.

Amanda had her knee elevated and had ice on it after showering, taking her long tousled hair out of its bun after a few minutes… noticing how she was looking at the flat screen Tv, Finn reached his left hand over and rested it on her right one.

"I wanted to be out there to stand by Roman's side…" Amanda said quietly before Finn's eyes drifted down a bit as she was wearing a black low cut satin cami that had a built in lace push up bra. "Naughty boy. My eyes are up here." She said teasingly, Finn looking up as he knew she had busted him.

"Yes, yes they are. Just rather… noticeable." Finn responded, doing his best to hold back the smirk that was fighting to show through.

"I'd slap you if I didn't like you so damn much, Balor." Amanda replied, the two laughing… but when she tried to move her injured knee, she cringed and he readjusted the ice pack.

At the same time, the CCTV camera moved around carefully in the locker room and in the production truck, Charlotte was watching.

"You sure I won't get fired for helping you spy on them, Miss Flair?" The young intern asked.

"I don't really consider it spying… just surveying from a distance." Charlotte answered.

But she was hiding her true intentions.


	3. No Longer Reckless

_**July 9th 2005…**_

" _You're just gonna pick up and go?! Your life is here!" Andre said before Amanda turned back to him._

" _My life will always be here but my dreams aren't! I'm sorry but-" Amanda responded, Andre gripping her right elbow. "You can't force me to stay… and I won't be your friend if you try to, Andre." She finished, moving her arm away from his hand and Andre turning incensed as Amanda put the last bag in John's Charger._

 _Without warning, he grabbed the 15 year old and kissed her… and she shoved him back and slapped him hard across the face._

" _Don't ever do that to me again, what the hell's the matter with you?!" Amanda responded threateningly, Andre wiping the blood away from his split open upper lip and saw that she was wearing a cropped RKO Legend Killer shirt._

" _Crushing on your brother's best friend, huh?!" Andre growled._

" _That's none of your business!" Amanda said._

" _Hey, you keep your trap shut!" The two heard, before Immy was over with them quickly and delivered a hard slap to Andre's side, him stumbling back. "Mandy, you go and you make yourself a brilliant and firm career. I'll keep in touch and try to keep control over this idiot, I don't know… occupy him in some experiments or something."_

" _Thanks, Immy." Amanda said, the two hugging before John headed over and he and Amanda got in the car and drove off… a distance away, John turned to Amanda, having seeing the blood on Andre's mouth._

" _Didn't agree with you leaving, huh?" John questioned, Amanda shaking her head. "It won't be the first time… now you're getting involved with all this company and that, you're gonna learn very quickly that there's always gonna be someone who's against whatever you're doing. But you also learn to ignore them who tell you otherwise, it's your life and path, your fate. Not theirs to argue with."_

" _It is but for as long as I can remember, he's always been a part of it… since we were little kids playing on the monkey bars." Amanda responded, John seeing a bite on her lower lip._

" _I remember you tried looking at more of a relationship with him a couple years back… I know it didn't work out but you still stayed close, maybe Andre just doesn't know how to react to someone who's basically become his sister leaving home suddenly." John replied._

" _Still hurt though, his teeth sinking in like that…" Amanda said._

" _Ah… now he's been watching too many movies. Old romance films have it that biting your partner's lip while you kiss, and drawing blood, usually means… well, dominance. Either he's desperate, or he figured that if he showed something like that towards you, you'd chose against leaving… or he was just smashed up in the head." John responded._

" _Probably was." Amanda replied as Rebel Rebel by David Bowie started to play and John turned the volume up a bit._

 _Amanda started to relax and sing, John joining in as well… and seeing how happy she looked…_

 **Present time…**

At the hotel later, Amanda heard her tablet chime after getting ready for bed and answered the video call.

"Hey… everything alright, why do you look so serious?" Amanda responded with a nervous laugh after seeing Ric.

"Where is he?" Ric asked.

"Who and why? Because you look like you want to kill someone." Amanda replied, which caught Finn's attention and him walking over and sitting down.

"Is everything okay, Mr. Flair?" Finn asked, Ric turning to him.

"Yeah… more or less. But Balor… go train for your matches rather than hanging around and influencing Mandy here." Ric replied.

"Ric, nothing inappropriate is going on. And you were a notorious womanizer back in the Four Horsemen days of AWA and WCW, you used to constantly charm women who were the same age as me." Amanda said, Ric turning back to her with a slightly startled look. "Arn Anderson told me a few stories when I got older." She explained, Ric trying not to laugh.

"Well there's a time in everyone's life when they're old enough to know that… just make sure if you ever tell them that you keep them tasteful." Ric said.

"I will, Ric." Amanda replied as Ric noticed that she was struggling to stay awake.

"Good. Now rest up, no screwing around." Ric responded before they ended the video chat, Amanda setting the tablet aside.

"$15 says that Charlotte went talking to him and tried to make you seem like a sleazeball. The little bitch." Amanda said as she and Finn pulled the covers back before lying down and pulling the covers over them. "She wasn't so supportive the first time around… I tried to form a romantic relationship with someone when I was 13 and he was 15. It didn't last too long, about four months… and we were more like brother and sister until I left home. We haven't spoken in 10 years… and there are times I look back and think if I had stayed, would've it have worked out. But I knew I just couldn't stay in one place for too long… that wasn't me back then but Charlotte wanted me to try to stay with him and I told her I was too young to feel tied down, I wanted to be free." She explained as they looked at each other, Finn's left hand resting on her right hip.

"And she didn't understand… she thought she knew what was best." Finn responded.

"She was sleeping with Alberto Del Rio while he's married… and then he started sleeping with Paige. Everyone's human, we all make mistakes but we can't blame others." Amanda replied, snuggling closer to Finn. "If he truly loved his wife, he wouldn't be cheating on her… I feel like I was taken back 10 years to when Lita was sleeping with Adam. And Matt Hardy was lashing out at people who wanted him to handle the situation in private instead of putting it out in the public… I stopped speaking to all three for a while and Matt hated that." She responded.

And when Finn looked closer, he saw a scar on the back of Amanda's neck.

"He hit you?!" Finn questioned, Amanda nodding as tears streamed down her face.

Finn held her closer to him, brushing Amanda's tears away.

And when she was settled into sleep, he hoped she was dreaming peacefully.


End file.
